Weedeater line in carbons

This might be of interests to some so thought I would share.

Earlier this year I read a post on tradgang where an archer suggested using weedeater line inside of carbons for better flight stability and penetration. I had been having problems with the ones I was experimenting with and could never get them to fly consistantly true with my heavier broadheads. I tried this suggestion and could not believe the difference it made.

There are weight adapters for doing this, but the weight is concentrated at the head of the arrow whereas the line distributes it evenly through the length of the shaft.

I am very pleased with the results, thus the reason I wanted to share.

BTW, I simply removed the nock and measured the line lenth by putting it in the shaft until it stopped at the broadhead. I then cut it 3/4 inch shorter to accommodate the nock insert.

Al

Hey Al,

Is it simply the added (distributed) weight that helps stabilize it? Do you think it affects spine?

Neat idea.

My first thought would be that our arrows were to light for your set up. The added weight just brough the arrows up to where they should have been in the first place.

Junebug,
I am confident it has no effect on the spine, it all has to do with wieght distribution.

Ust1More, I shoot traditional bows and have been experimenting. I do not shoot the lighter 75-100 gr. heads.
I am also shooting a couple of different carbon weights. Prior to puting the line inside the shafts, no mater which head I used, I would get eratic flight. Now they fly like missiles.

Al

There are wight tubes availabel for doing this that I think would be better than weed eater line. The weight tubes add so much per inch and fit inside the arrow shaft perfectly, made to fit them and not be loose.

Actually, the weight tubes do have an effect on the spine, although nno spine tester would ever show it. By increasing the weight of the arrows the string will not be accelerating the arrows at the same speed. With a decrease in the acceleration the effective spine of the arrow has increased.

Camo Wraps

Someone told me that the camo wraps of some carbon arrows gives them better flight characteristics than the plain type due to the added weight, i.e., Carbon Extremes were mentioned as an example.

If 2 arrows of the same spine deflection numbers are shot, one camo one not, and you get better flight characteristics from the camo'd arrow, you are on the edge of spine strength in the first place.

For example, if I shoot beman ICS 340's an get erratic flight, simply switching to the camo 340s should have little effect. The weight is not sufficient on the camo arrows to change the spine enough. If that is the case, the non-camo arrows were too weak to begin with, and the camo has put them slightly within the spine range for the bow/cam/drawlength/arrow tune of that bow and arrow combination.

The yellow weight tubes from carbon express weigh 3 grs/inch and the red ones weigh 2grs/inch.

You can also try rubber aquarium tubing that you can buy at Walmart. I use it alot and like the results.

If you insert an object inside a carbon shaft such as weed eater line, aquarium tubing etc. it will weaken the spine of the arrow some. The weight tubes from carbon express weaken the shaft very little. The other types of weighing sytems: aquarium tubing, nylon rope, weed eater line will weaken it unless it is completely tight against the side wall. It will still weaken it, but not as much - maybe not even enough to tell.

The only time arrow spine is increased is when you place something inside of the shaft that has a spine of it's own i.e. wooden dowel, or another arrow shaft.

I shoot a re/de longbow that is 57 #'s at 28". I use carbon express 45/60's out of that bow that are 29" BOP. Inserted inside is aquarium tubing full length from insert to the end of the shaft. The nock pushes the tube down and holds it firm. On the end I shoot a 125 grain Wensel Woodsman with a 125 grain steel insert for a total weight of 250 grains up front. The entire setup weighs over 700 grains. The 45/60's spine out at around 85lbs on my spine tester. The setup flies like a missle.

Jeff - I know this is contrary to what you said - but it's just my findings from testing and experimenting with weighing carbon shafts for the past 8 years.